Good Luck
by Uozumi
Summary: White carnations symbolize true love and a gift of good luck from a woman. Unable to get up the nerve to give Naruto one, Hinata stumbles upon Gaara's room in the hospital. She gives him the flower and continues to visit him with a white carnation every d


**Title** _Good Luck_  
**Author** Uozumi  
**Genre** Friendship/General/WAFF-ish  
**Rating** G  
**Disclaimer** I do not own nor claim to own this. The characters, ect...contained within are not my property. This is an act of fandom and I do not make a profit from this endeavor.  
**Summary** White carnations symbolize true love and a gift of good luck from a woman. Unable to get up the nerve to give Naruto one, Hinata stumbles upon Gaara's room in the hospital. She gives him the flower and continues to visit him with a white carnation every day. Gaara/Hinata. One-sided Hinata/Naruto.

**_Good Luck_**

In Konoha, it is customary for the girls to gives boys flowers, especially when they've landed themselves in the hospital. From an early age, the girls are taught flower arrangement and what each flower means and says. After each Chûnin exam, admirers and teammates poured in to give the boys flowers. There were even special sections of the hospital set away for those allergic to pollen and other plant-borne allergens.

Hinata twisted her white carnation around in her fingers as she walked down the hall. White carnations were a symbol of true love and also seen as a woman's good luck gift to someone. Thusly, a white carnation for her teammates and Naruto were quite appropriate. It bestowed luck to Shino and Kiba and told Naruto that she cared about him, though she knew he wouldn't get the message.

She had finished visiting Shino with Kiba and had told them she had one last person to see before going home. Kiba offered to walk back with her, but she waved him on saying she was just fine. She was sure she had to have been blushing, especially by the looks she received from her teammates.

She came to Naruto's door and took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She could do this. She could walk right in there and hold out her flower and he would grin and say thanks! She felt her cheeks turning pink and tried to fight it down. She had just walked into Shino's room and gave him a flower and Kiba too when he showed up. That had been easy, no thinking involved. However, this wasn't so easy.

Straightening slightly, Hinata called up her strength. She could do this! Yes, she could! Then she went to walk into Naruto's room and found her feet walking her right past the open door. She stopped and looked down at the flower. It would be rude to march past his room constantly, but she couldn't give up either. That's when someone bumped into her.

"Oh! Hyûga-sama!" a young nurse exclaimed, speaking in a slightly frightened and rushed tone. "I am so sorry! I should watch where I am going!"

Hinata only smiled softly. "It's all right. I was standing in front of the door without thinking." She was used to the fear in people's voices and such formal tones. Her family was the most influential people in Konoha outside of the Hokage, which carried its own intimidation and awe.

The nurse bowed and then hurried away. Hinata sighed inwardly and prepared herself to try and go into Naruto's room again when she looked into the room the nurse had come out of. There was a boy just her height with dark red hair. Her mind remembered him instantly. He was Gaara from Suna with that odd tattoo on the side of the head facing away from her. Hinata looked down at her flower and then back in the direction of Naruto's room. She knew she would never work up the courage to talk to Naruto right now, and Gaara looked rather lonely.

Taking a deep breath, she knocked on the doorframe. The boy didn't even blink or jump; he merely turned his head away from the window and looked over at her. He was sitting up in the hospital bed, his legs under the covers and his sandals and gourd on the ground where he could easily access them if there was an emergency. He gave her a rather odd look as though waiting for her reaction. 

"Uh…" Hinata's voice trailed and then she held up the flower as though to accentuate why she was there, "I came to visit you."

Gaara wore a guarded expression.

Hinata took a few steps into the room, watching him. She didn't want to intrude and now she was wondering if she shouldn't have gone home with the flower. He was very intimidating and she couldn't tell if he was annoyed, if he wanted her to leave, or anything. "Here," she set the flower in the vase by his bedside. "This symbolizes good luck," she told him, extremely aware of his eyes on her, of him judging her. She took the flower and vase over to the sink inside the room and ran the water into the vase dumping it out every so often so that it wasn't dusty looking anymore. Then she put the right amount of water in it and set the flower carefully inside.

Gaara was still watching her. She returned the vase to his bedside without looking at him. She wasn't sure exactly what she was supposed to say to him. Finally, she asked, "Am I bothering you?" She had to make sure. It would be impolite to just sit down by his bed and babble at him. She had learned that much by observing how girls tried to chase after Sasuke.

"No." His voice was lower and quieter than most of the boys she knew, and it also had a gravely undertone to it.

"Do you mind if I sit?" she asked cautiously looking over at him. He was still watching her, still judging her.

"No." It had the same quality to it. She vaguely remembered his voice being slightly sharper when she heard him speak during the preliminary exams months ago.

"How are you?" she asked as she sat down on the stool by his bed. It was the first thing she could think of and not a stupid question given where they were.

"Okay," he said finally averting his eyes to his hands.

With his eyes off of her, Hinata let out a breath she had been holding. It made it somewhat easier to talk with him looking away. Although, she wasn't sure if that meant she should leave or not. She thought about telling him to tell her when to leave, but he had said she could stay, so she decided against it.

They sat in silence for several minutes, neither forcing conversation. Finally, Hinata stood up. "I have to go and visit one last person before visiting hours are over."

Gaara nodded without saying anything. He didn't watch her leave.

* * *

She came with another white carnation the next day. She wasn't sure why, but she wanted to. Peeking into his room, she checked to see if he was out of the hospital. She didn't want to knock on the door and then feel really stupid when it was someone she didn't know in there or an empty room. He was moving his mouth but she couldn't hear what he was saying. She considered if she should come back later when she heard his voice, a slight edge to it. "You can come in."

Straightening, Hinata entered the room and gave him her best smile. He always looked so lonely. The guarded expression on his face went up and again he watched her every move. "I thought I would come back, it's was kind of rude for me to leave like that yesterday." She walked over and took up the vase. The water had already been changed and the flower was still in it. "I brought another one."

He nodded and looked out the window. Hinata busied herself with arranging the two flowers so they didn't look smashed together or hang apart. "I had to visit Neiji-oniisan," she explained.

Gaara nodded again and Hinata set the vase down by his bedside. "Why?" he asked. He remembered the confrontations during the exams, especially since Naruto had stopped in a few hours before when he had been released from his room.

"Otôsama asked me to," Hinata said. "It went well. Neiji-oniisan apologized for everything." She watched him study his fingers. She would have expected something more upfront. She thought about asking him if he was shy, but she didn't want to be rude. Besides, he could simply be tolerating her for all she could tell. "Sorry about not asking about coming again," she said after a few minutes.

"It's okay."

"Are you any better?"

Gaara looked over at her and then nodded. "Yeah."

She smiled. "I'm glad." Before she could say anything more, a knock came at the room's door. Turning to look over her shoulder, she recognized the people as Gaara's teammates. Standing up, she dusted off her pants and bowed slightly. "I'll see you tomorrow, Gaara-kun." Then she gave his teammates nods as she left the room.

* * *

Hinata walked up towards the hospital another white carnation in her hand. As she passed, people greeted her with smiles, which she readily returned. As she rounded the corner to the street leading up to the hospital, her pace slowed. "Gaara-kun?"

The younger Genin was standing up in a tree and jumped down before walking over to her. He held out a white carnation. "You said that it brings good luck."

Hinata stifled a laugh. She wanted to tell him that it really symbolized good luck from a woman, but she didn't. "Here," she gave him the one she was carrying, "and thank you."

He nodded and then he said, "I'm going to go back to Suna now."

Hinata nodded and smiled. "Perhaps I'll see you again."

Gaara nodded. "Yeah." Then he left as fast as he had appeared.

**The End**


End file.
